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abortion, 165
Adams, Herbert Baxter, 52, 250n 60
Adams, John, 32, 91
affirmative action, 164
Alinsky, Saul, 162
Alterman, Eric, xii
American Jobs Act, 194
American Prospect (Klein), 193
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the Stimulus), 6, 9, 27, 242n 10
American Statesman Series, 47–48
anti-Semitism, 40
Aquinas, St. Thomas, 223
Aristotle, 23, 47, 83, 138, 153, 154, 186, 213, 215, 246n 24
Audacity of Hope, The (Obama), 9, 11, 104, 147–49, 212–13, 218–19, 223, 224, 259n 17
Augustine, St., 62, 223
Ayers, William, x, 173
Bagehot, Walter, 74, 75
Bancroft, George, 52
Baucus, Max, 205, 206
Beard, Charles, 43, 174
Beer, Samuel, 155
Beinart, Peter, 103, 105
Berle, Adolf, 107, 187, 252n 8
big government: alternative to, 210; Conservative limiting of, 200–201, 217–18; LBJ and, 165; “living constitution” and, 173; mistrust of, 173; Obama and, 27, 165; Obamacare bureaucracies, 206–7; repeal of Obamacare sought and, 208–9; rights dependent on, concept of, 209; social programs and, 170. See also Great Society; New Deal; Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
bin Laden, Osama, 195, 196–97
birthers, 3
Bluntschli, Johann Caspar, 250n 60
Boehner, John, 7
Boller, Paul, 64
Bowers, Claude, 126–27
Boxer, Barbara, ix
Bridge, The (Remnick), 4
Brown, John, 225, 226
Brown, Scott, 200
Bryan, William Jennings, 43, 246n 19
Buckley, William, 218
Burgess, John, 79, 250n 60
Burke, Edmund, 73, 74, 100
Burns, James MacGregor, 106, 256n 47
Bush, George H. W., 181–82
Bush, George W., 4, 12, 177;Clinton’s problems and election of, 10; compassionate conservatism of, 12; fiscal and monetary mistakes, 27; Social Security reform, 104; tax cuts of, 25
Calhoun, John C., 232, 250n 63
capitalism: crony capitalism, 64; Marx and, 61; Obama and, 193; production of wealth and paying for entitlement benefits, 233–34; Social Darwinism and, 64, 65; taming of, by FDR and Obama, 103
Carnegie, Andrew, 64, 68
Carter, Jimmy, xii, 8, 10; leadership and, 96, 175; malaise speech, 175–76
Castro, Fidel, x
Cato’s Letters (Trenchard and Gordon), 215
Ceaser, James W., 12
Challenge to Liberty, The (Hoover), 111
Chesterton, Gilbert Keith, 195
Chicago: 1968 DNC and riots, 1–3; Election Day, 2008, 3–4; Rahm Emanuel as mayor, 2
Churchill, Winston, 186
Cicero, 213
civil rights, xii, 4, 162–63; Black Power and, 164, 169; equal opportunity and, 163–64; Jim Crow laws and, 37; making history and, 190; Watts riots and, 164; youth movement and, 173
Civil Rights Act of 1964, 149, 160, 161
Civil War, 53; Constitutional amendments of, 37, 48; end of old politics and, 36–37; “human rights” vs. “property rights” and, 140–41; “progress in degeneracy” and, 44
Clayton Act, 123
Clinton, Bill, xii, 9–10, 11–12, 147, 149, 215; Age of Reagan and, 11; Hillarycare failure, 11, 201, 202; rightward movement of, 27; Second Inaugural speech, 183–84, 185; Third Way politics, 9, 12, 212; as Wilsonian leader, 96
Clinton, Hillary, ix, 8, 10, 123, 177, 201
College of New Jersey. See Princeton University
Columbia University, ix–x, 51, 52; Wilson speaking at, 69–70
communism, 95, 236
Communist Party (U.S.), 117
Comte, Auguste, 89
Congressional Government (Wilson), 32, 46
Conklin, Paul, 106–7
Conservatism, xiv–xv, 2, 112; Bush’s compassionate conservatism, 12; limiting big government and, 200–201; party system and, 121–22; Reagan and, 149, 176; repeal of Obamacare and, 207–8; scholars in social sciences, 230
Coolidge, Calvin, 117, 118, 181, 253n 14
Cornell University, 51–52
Corporation for Public Broadcasting, 162
Coulanges, Fustel de, 250n 63
Creation of the American Republic, The (Wood), 214–15
Croly, Herbert, 36, 48, 111, 126
Crook, Clive, 234–35
culture wars, 165–76; collapse of liberal idealism and, 168; Nixon’s election and, 174; Supreme Court decisions and, 165
Cuomo, Mario, 170
Daley, Richard J., 2, 3, 241n 2
Dalrymple, Theodore, 169
Daniels, Mitch, 8
Dante Alighieri, 119
Darwin, Charles, 63–64
Darwinism, 63–64, 67; “Absolute moment” and, 67; “living constitution” and, 89; Religious Right and, 66; Ward and, 68–69; Wilson and, 70–71, 74–75. See also Social Darwinism
Davis, James H., 245n 17
Declaration of Independence, 44, 77, 82, 119, 140, 197; FDR and, 127–28, 129, 133–34, 135; Lincoln and, 44, 134, 191, 192, 213–14; natural rights doctrine, 191, 214, 215; Obama and, 212–15, 218–19, 220
Democracy: a Journal of Ideas, 4–5
Democratic Party: 1932 FDR acceptance speech, 106, 113; 1932 platform, 113–14; 1936 FDR acceptance speech, 114–16; 1968 national convention and Chicago riots, 1–3, 241n 2; 2004 national convention, Obama’s debut at, 24; 2008 control of Congress, 8–9; 2010 election losses, 195; “blue state social model,” 29, 233; culture wars and, 165; FDR’s goal of an enduring majority, 103, 119; FDR’s purge campaign, 108–9; Jefferson as patron saint of, 126–27; leftism in, 1, 154; as national party of liberalism, 3, 35, 108, 112, 236; Obama’s impact on, 12–13, 14–17; Obama victory 2008 as majority of popular vote, 8, 241n 9; Reaganites in, 10, 27; Solid South of, 35; as supermajority, 116, 138, 161–62; Wilson and, 33
Democratic Socialists of America, ix–x
Dewey, John, xiv, 63–64, 108, 111–12, 159, 247n 31; “the principle of transition,” 67
Dodd, Chris, 205, 206
Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, 9, 28, 242n 10
Donnelly, Ignatius, 40
Douglas, Stephen, 16–17, 91, 219
Douglass, Frederick, 225
Dreams from My Father (Obama), 192, 259n 12
Dutch (Morris), 192
Dynamic Sociology (Ward), 68
economy: American Jobs Act, 194; big government and, 27; conservatism and, 230; financial crisis of 2007–2008, 27; Friedman vs. Sachs, 230; Great Recession of 2008–2009, 27, 193, 200; growth stalled, 28; Keynesian, 230; Obama fiscal policy, 27–28; Reagan and, 230. See also American Recovery and Reinvestment Act; Great Depression
Eden, Robert, 107, 252n 8
Eisenhower, Dwight D., 155
Eliot, Charles W., 51
Ely, Richard T., 47, 52, 83, 248n 34; “ethical ideal” and, 158
Emanuel, Rahm, 2
English Historical School, 74
environmental issues, 28, 154
Essay on Population (Malthus), 65
Europe: economic crisis in, 27; Greece insolvency, 28; social democracy model, 28; Swedenization of America, 28, 235
Everett, Edward, 51
evolutionary theory, 63–69
existentialism, 168, 169, 172
Federalist, The, 82, 91, 99, 232
Federal Reserve, 27, 123
Federal Trade Commission (FTC), 123
Feminine Mystique, The (Friedan), 160
Filmer, Sir Robert, 80, 250n 63
financial reform bill. See Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
Ford, Gerald, 12
Founding Fathers, xiii; Anglo-Saxonism and, 250n 62; FDR and, 112–13; leadership and, 91; liberalism and, 215; Locke and, 214–15; natural rights doctrine, 187, 191, 209, 215; Obama on, 218–19, 224–25, 261n 38; originalists and, 231; politics as a civilian forum, 196; as presidents, 32; property, life, liberty and, 134; republicanism and, 214–15; reverence for, 45; scholarly debate over, 214–15; Wilson and, 47, 112, 261n 38; Zeitgeist of, 70
Friedan, Betty, 160
Friedman, Milton, 230
Fukuyama, Francis, 59, 77
Galbraith, John Kenneth, 151
Geithner, Timothy, 6
Gettysburg, speeches at, 51
Gibbs, Nancy, 3–4
Giffords, Gabrielle, 195
Gingrich, Newt, 147
Glimpses of the Cosmos (Ward), 68
Goldwater, Barry, 112
Goodwin, Doris Kearns, 15, 157
Goodwin, Richard, 150, 151, 152, 156, 157; Great Society speech, 159–60
Gore, Al, 9, 10
Gould, Jay, 47
Gray, Asa, 63
Great Depression, 104; American despair and, 193; as “crisis of the old order,” 108; FDR’s emergency powers and, 188–90; New Deal as response to, 132–33; rich vs. poor and, 141
Great Recession, 27, 193, 200
Great Society, xv, xvii, 150–65, 173; defined by LBJ, 160; demise of, 164–65; destruction of, 157; LBJ’s Inaugural address and, 159–60; “living constitution” and, 173–74; New Left and, 171, 172; “policy mindedness” and, 174; as third wave of liberal reform, 159, 174
Green, T. H., 158
Guantánamo Bay detention facility, 25
Gunnell, John, 53
Hale, William Bayard, 249n 51
Hamilton, Alexander, 32–33, 91, 126, 127, 232, 244n 3, 254n 29; “limited Constitution” and, 76; property rights and, 134
Harding, Warren, 118, 124
Harvard University, 51; Eliot, Charles W. as president, 51
Harvard University Law School, ix, 214–15
Hay, John, 48
Hayden, Tom, 167
Hayek, Friedrich, 230
healthcare program (Obamacare). See Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Heclo, Hugh, 173; “policy mindedness” and, 174
Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich, 56–61, 67, 77, 84, 236; civil servants as “the universal class,” 170; Der Staat or the State and, 84, 85, 251n 66; “end of history idea,” 59, 60, 61; “rational State” and, 59–60; Sittlichkeit and the State, 158; Volksgeist concept, 58; Wilson’s ideas and, 74; “world-historical individuals,” 99
History, 31, 55–63, 168; “Absolute moment” and, 59, 62; Hegel and, 56–61; Hegel’s “end of history,” 59, 67, 187; Marx and, 61–62; Obama and, 190; progressive liberals’ view of, 31, 57–61, 185, 198; Progressivism and, 62, 93, 232; “rational State” and, 59–60; Social Darwinism and, 67
Hitler, Adolf, 96
Hofstadter, Richard, 106, 246n 19, 248n 46
Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Jr., 37, 106
Hoover, Herbert, 108, 110–11, 112, 117, 118, 119
Howe, Frederic C., 53, 54
Humboldt, Alexander, Baron von, 158
Humphrey, Hubert, 1, 157
immigration, 41, 79–80
Jackson, Andrew, 8, 40, 43, 241n 9
Jaffa, Harry V., 102
James, William, xiv
Jefferson, Thomas, 32, 40, 43, 44, 91, 92, 133–34, 223; Anglo-Saxonism and, 250n 62; Declaration of Independence and, 213, 214; FDR and, 126–27, 128, 131; natural rights doctrine, xvi, 140–41; property rights and, 134, 140; “rights of man” and, 214; University of Virginia and, 247n 28; Wilson on, 74
Jefferson and Hamilton (Bowers), 126–27
Jencks, Christopher, 50
Johns Hopkins University: Ely at, 47, 52; German influence on, 52, 53; Wilson at, 34
Johnson, Haynes, 2
Johnson, Lyndon B. (LBJ), xi–xii, 7, 24, 165–76, 178, 193; 1964 address, University of Michigan, 152–53, 154, 156; 1964 campaign, 150; address, Howard University, 163, 164; belief in progress, 230; big government and, 165; centralization of government and, 165–66; Civil Rights Act of 1964, 149, 160, 161; domestic legislation, 161–62; electoral rebellion against, 179; FDR and, 151; Great Society of, 150–65; the “Harvards” and, 155, 156; Inaugural Address, 151, 160; leadership and, 93, 161; New Deal and, 149, 151, 152; New Left and, 149, 154; popular vote for, 8, 161, 241n 9; quantitative liberalism and, 151, 152; reelection decision, 157; “treatment,” 161; Vietnam War and, 2–3, 149, 152, 160, 171; War on Poverty, 151–52, 155, 157–58, 161, 162; “Whiz Kids” and, 171; youth movement and, 156–57, 160–61. See also Great Society
Johnson, Samuel, 91
Kallen, Horace, 79
Kant, Immanuel, 158
Kennedy, Edward “Teddy,” 9, 199, 200
Kennedy, John F., xi, 21, 150, 155, 161; assassination of, 161; speechmaking (rhetorical presidency) of, 179
Kennedy, Robert F. “Bobby,” 1, 2, 150
Kerr, Clark, 171
Kerry, John, 9, 10
King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1, 162–63, 164, 223–24; “I Have a Dream” speech, 220; Obama and legacy of, 3
Kirk, Russell, 74
Klein, Ezra, 193
Kloppenberg, James, 219–20, 222, 259n 17, 261n 34
Kojève, Alexandre, 60–61
Kristol, Irving, 144–45
Kristol, William, 259n 15
Kroft, Steven, 178
Kurtz, Stanley, 259n 12
La Follette, Robert M., 53, 253n 14
La Rochefoucauld, Francois de, x
leadership, 88–100; American prejudice against, 91, 92; Carter and, 175; connection to Spirit of the Age and, 100; danger of superman and, 228; demagoguery and, 91; democratic, 96–97; dictatorships, 95–96; FDR and, 119, 121, 161; as hierarchical, 196; LBJ and, 161; liberalism and, 99–102, 196, 228; Lincoln and, 97, 228; military, 91–92; Obama and, 93, 191, 193–94, 196, 197–98; paradigm of liberal, 196; populist nature of, 96–97, 99–100; presidency and, 121–22, 180, 182; reformers and, 98–99; as tool of history, 186; visionary, 100–101, 182–85; Wilson and, 92–100, 119, 161, 175, 182
“Leaders of Men” (Wilson), 93–95
Leftism, German influence on, 52
Lenin, Vladimir Ilyich, 95, 172; “vanguard theory,” 95
“Letter from Birmingham Jail” (King), 223–24
Leuchtenburg, William, 159
Levin, Yuval, 234
liberalism, x–xi, xv, xvi; as anti-American, 149, 174; authoritarianism and, 188; belief in progress, 168, 172–73, 188; Carter’s malaise speech and, 175–76; civil war within, 2; classic, 110; conservative view of, xiii; crisis of, 227–237; criticisms by, 20; Croly and, 111; cultural, xv, xvi, xvii–xviii; description of, by liberals, xii; Dewey and, 111–12; domestic policy and, xi; economic liberalism, xv, xvi–xvii; egalitarianism and, 158; Election Day, 2008 and, 4–5; entitlement spending and, 234; “ethical ideal” and, 158; failure to evolve, 29; FDR and, 105–22, 169; FDR defines term, 110; fear history has deserted them, 175–76; Founding Fathers and, 215; fourth wave and Obama, 179; freedom and, 159; in Great Britain, 111; great presidential leaders of, 93; group rights and, 169; hatred of cruelty and, 229; History and, 31, 57–61, 185, 198, 201; homo liber and, 119; Hoover and, 110–11; “hope and change” and, 19; Kristol on, 259n 15; lack of specific goals, 18–19; LBJ as highmark, 161; leadership and, 99–102, 196, 228; liberalitas (generosity) and, 119; “living constitution” and, 76, 89, 187, 209; loss of states’ rights and, 35; modern, 31, 236; new morality and, 131, 133; Obama and, xi, xviii–xix, 9, 18–19, 178–79, 222, 232; as old-fashioned, dated, 232; origins of American, xv; party system and, 121–22; pragmatism and, xii, xiv, 187, 231; progressive, 185; Progressivism and, 31, 69, 196; Protestantism and, 120; public interest vs. private realm and, 47; quantitative, 151, 152; radicalism of, xiii, 149, 212; rejection of American majority, 175; relativism and, 227–28, 229; resurgent, under Obama, 212–26; Rorty on, 229; Santayana and, 111; scholarly counterattack on, 230–31; self-development and, 168–69; the Sixties and, 149, 169; Social Darwinism and, 65–66; social sciences and, 155–56, 158; social-welfare Darwinism and, 145; the State and, 81–82, 154, 158, 195, 197, 236; test of credibility, 28–29; theory of, xiii–xiv; transformation of constitutional system and, 76, 209; unhealthy state of today, 179; welfare state and, 123, 145; Wilson and, xii–xiii, xix, 90–100, 169
Liberal Party (Canada), 236
Liberal Party (Great Britain), 111, 236
Liberal Republican party, 111
libertarianism, 74, 251n 66
Lieber, Francis, 52
Lincoln, Abraham, xiii, 91, 99, 112, 113, 178, 219, 223, 232; Cooper Union speech, x, 182; Declaration of Independence and, 44, 134, 191, 192, 213–14; Douglas debates, 182; Gettysburg Address, 51; “House Divided” speech, 16–17; July 4, 1891 message to Congress, 182; as leader, 97; Lyceum speech, 228–29; natural rights doctrine and, xvi, 191; Obama’s evoking of, 14–17, 226; politics of vision and, 182–83; Progressivism and, 48–49; property rights and, 140; on selfishness of man’s nature, 101–2
Lindley, Ernest K., 105
Lippmann, Walter, 36
Locke, John, 80–81, 134, 207, 213, 214–15
Lodge, Henry Cabot, 47
Lyell, Charles, 63
Machiavelli, 215
Madison, James, 32, 39, 50, 91
Magna Carta, 129, 254n 29
Malthus, Thomas Robert, 65, 66
Mansfield, Harvey, 164, 198
Marcuse, Herbert, 172
Marx, Karl, 61–62, 164, 233; on bureaucrats, 170–71
McCain, John, 12, 197, 201, 217
McGovern, George, 2
McNamara, Robert, 171
McPherson, Harry, 160–61
Mead, Walter Russell, 28, 233
Medicare and Medicaid, 151, 162, 203, 204, 208, 233, 234
Mellon, Andrew, 118
Mill, John Stuart, 158
modernity, 44
Moley, Raymond, 106
Mondale, Walter, 234
Morford, Mark, 14
Morgan, J. P., 47
Morgan, Lewis Henry, 250n 63
Morris, Edmund, 192
Moyers, Bill, 152
Moynihan, Daniel Patrick, 155
Mussolini, Benito, 95
Nader, Ralph, 160
National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA), 233
nationalism, 48–49
National Journal, ix
Nazism, 78–79, 96
New Deal, xv, xvi–xvii, 106, 111, 117, 118, 119, 122–45, 159; as “equal privileges for all,” 144; LBJ and, 149, 151, 152, 165; policies as improvisational, 142–43; as pragmatic governance, 142, 143; Progressivism and, 31, 196; Social Security and, 105, 256n 46; Supreme Court rulings on NRA and AAA, 143; viewed as failure, 172; Works Progress Administration, 159
New Freedom, xv, 43, 88, 105–6, 106, 112, 123–24
New Freedom, The (Wilson), 43–44, 88
New Left, xvii, 2, 149, 154, 173; contradictions of, 167; Great Society and, 171, 172; “postmodern distrust of motive,” 174; rejection of American majority, 175; SDS and, 167–68; U.S. Supreme Court and, 165
“New Liberal Order, The” (Beinart), 103
New Republic, 36, 111
New Yorker, 4
Nicaragua, x
Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, 61, 168, 228
nihilism, 188, 223, 231
Nixon, Richard, 11, 149, 174, 183, 190; Watergate and, 175
Obama, Barack: 2004, DNC speech, 24; 2005 Knox College commencement address, 184; 2005 National Press Club speech, 104; 2007 announcement of candidacy, 192, 199; 2008 CNN debate, 217; 2008 Denver acceptance of nomination speech, 10, 11, 24; 2008 presidential election, 3–4, 12, 21–22, 23, 103, 241n 9; 2008 repudiation of Wright, 221; 2008 speech on race, 219–20, 223; 2011 State of the Union address, 195–96; 2012 State of the Union address, 216; “absolute truth” and, 101, 223, 224–26; “active” vs. “big” government, 217;
as “ahead of his time,” 26; America envisioned by, 212–26; anti-Sixties demeanor of, 149; approval rating, 6; “audacity of hope” and, 17–25; “basic American Promise,” 216; big government and, 27, 165, 217; bin Laden’s killing and, 195, 196–97; birthers and, 3; black church and, 212; BP oil spill, 6; broken promises, 6–7; “brother’s keeper” ideal and State as family, 81, 82, 104, 195, 197, 215–16; Bush’s reform plans for Social Security and, 104–5; change and, 4, 11, 12–13, 14, 21, 24, 177, 190, 192, 193–94, 220–22; Clinton, Bill, and, 9–10, 212; college politics of, ix–x; contradictions of, 25–29, 190–91, 225, 227–28; “cynicism” as used by, 19, 20, 22; Declaration of Independence and, 212–13, 214–15, 218–19; Dodd-Frank act, 9, 18; egotism, confidence of, 177–79; electoral rebellion against, 179; FDR and, 11, 14, 103–4, 179; financial reform bill, 9, 28, 242n 10; fiscal policy, 27–28; Founding Fathers and, 218–19, 224–25, 261n 38; fourth wave of liberal reform and, 179; green energy industry and, 28; Guantánamo Bay detention facility and, 25; at Harvard Law School, ix, 214–15; healthcare program (Obamacare), xviii, 6, 7, 9, 13, 24, 26, 28, 179, 191, 198–212, 233, 242n 10, 259n 18, 260n 24; “history’s test” and, 24, 25, 31, 203; “hope and change” and, 179, 192, 193, 221; House Republicans and, 194–95; impatience, irritability of, 193–94; income redistribution/wealth-sharing and, 104; Jobs Speech, 194; LBJ and, 179; leadership and, 93, 191, 193–94, 196, 197–98; “liberal hegemony” goal, 103, 105; liberal-republican debate and, 215; liberal tenets in speeches of, 65; as “lightworker,” 14–17; Lincoln and, 14–17, 179, 219, 226; making or reshaping history and, 190, 191, 192, 200; military as political ideal and, 195–97, 259n 15; name for reforms by, 12; New Left and, 150; “new majority” and, 7–13, 25; new social contract of, 104; partisan politics and, 5, 7, 11–12, 16, 17, 18, 195, 198, 212, 259n 17; politics of vision and, 184–85, 192, 197–98, 258n 6; popular mandate and, 197–98; postmodernism and, 222; pragmatism and, 186, 188, 191, 217, 225, 226, 227, 228, 259n 18; progressive or liberal self-identification, x, xi, xiv, xviii, 4–5, 8, 18, 190, 222, 229–230; radical friends, x; Reagan legacy and, 26–27; reelection and, 25; regulatory reforms, 179; Rev. Wright and, 18, 219–221, 261n 34; self-creation concept, 188; in Senate, Leftism of, ix, x; “shock-and-awe Statism,” 8; the Sixties and, 147–49; 60 Minutes interview, 178; social compact of, 122; speechmaking (rhetorical presidency), 179, 193, 237; stimulus package, 6, 9, 27, 242n 10; taming capitalism and, 103–4, 193; tax increases and, 203, 234; transforming the U.S. and, 177; “universal truths” of, xiv, 222, 223; U.S. Constitution and, 217–18, 220; U.S. Supreme Court, dressing down of, 194; welfare state and, 27–28; Wilson, Woodrow and, 31–32; “Yes, we can,” meaning, 191–92; youthful ideals, 167
Obama, Michelle, 17, 18
Occidental College, ix
“Ode” (O’Shaughnessy), 258n 7
Olasky, Marvin, 210
On the Origin of Species (Darwin), 63, 64, 68
O’Shaughnessy, Arthur, 185, 258n 7
partisan politics, 54, 62, 76–77, 121, 122, 170, 180; Obama and, 5, 7, 11–12, 16, 17, 18, 195, 198, 212, 259n 17
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), xviii, 6, 7, 9, 28, 198–212, 233, 242n 10, 259n 18, 260n 24; administration of, 204, 206–7; bill’s length and content, 205–6; consequences of, 204–5; constitutionality questioned, 201, 208; criticisms of, 199–200; decline of constitutional government and, 205; eligibility for, 204; as entitlement program, 198, 210–11; as fulfillment of FDR’s plans, 179; funding sources, 203–4, 234–35; “history’s test” and, 24; IPAB, 208; insurance companies and, 204; limitations on health care and, 211; Medicare spending and, 208; as new kind of statute, 207; NIRA compared to, 233; Obama’s belief in shaping history and, 191; Obama’s promises about, 202–3; Obama’s speeches on, 202; repeal of, 26, 198–99, 200–201, 207–8; as right not privilege, 217; size and expanse of bill, 29; socialized medicine and, 13, 211–12; Social Security vs., 203; unpopularity of, 203, 236–37
Patten, Simon, 158
Pelosi, Nancy, 205, 206
People’s Party, 39, 40, 41, 43, 245n 17
Philosophy of History (Hegel), 99
Plato, 86
plutocracy, 39–40, 47, 64–65, 114, 141; crony capitalism as, 64; U.S. Constitution and, 43
Politics (Aristotle), 83, 138, 153
Populism, 39, 40–41, 245n 17, 246n 19; big government and, 41–42; leadership and, 96–97, 99–100; monetary policy, 41; Omaha Platform, 42; separation from Progressivism, 55; tenets of, 42; Wilson and, 43, 99–100
postmodernism, 191, 222, 223, 229, 230
pragmatism/postmodern pragmatism, xiv, 66, 67, 191, 259n 17; Clinton and, 9; FDR and, 105, 131, 133, 142, 143; liberalism and, xii, xiv, 187, 231; Obama and, 18, 105, 186, 188, 191, 217, 225, 226, 227, 228, 259n 18
presidency, 121–22; “crisis” exploitation and, 182; “I-see” speech, 183–84; politics of vision and, 182–87, 192, 193–94; rhetorical, 181–82, 187; speechmaking and, 180–85; U.S. Constitution and, 258n 9; Wilson’s new theory of, 33–34, 121, 181
Princeton University (formerly College of New Jersey), 51; Madison at, 50–51; Wilson as president, 69, 153; Wilson at, 32, 34, 249n 51
Progressive Party, 36, 253n 14; 1912 platform, 38, 259n 18
progressives, x, 8; “future perfect” and, 26; history as inevitable, 25, 201; hope and, 23; Obama as, 229–30; revolution and, 24–25
Progressivism, xi, xiii, xv, xvi, 31–102, 246n 19; “Absolute moment” and, 62, 67; assumptions of, 186, 187–88, 191; big government and, 41; captains of, 33, 48; case against, 231–32; change and, 58, 63; Civil War as ending old politics and, 37; decline of, 108–9, 168; doctrine of progress and, 43–44, 55–63, 102, 173, 187–88, 191; evolutionary science and, 63–69; FDR, liberalism,
and, 105–22, 255n 39; focus of, updating of American democracy, 38; German idealism and, 52–53, 58, 69; Hegel’s ideas of History and, 56–61, 93, 232; Hoover and, 108; “invisible government” of plutocracy as foe of, 39–40; leadership and, 90–100; liberalism and, 111; Lincoln as hero of, 48; Marx and, 61–62; monetary policy, 41; nationalism and, 48–49; natural rights doctrine and, 163; New Deal and, 196; political machines as bête noir of, 210; Populism and, 42–43, 55; problems related to an outdated Constitution, idea of, 43, 45–46, 49; Protestantism and, 120; public interest vs. private realm and, 47; race and, 77–78; “rational State” and, 187; reforms and, 123; Republican, 35; self-development and, 158–59; Social Gospel and, 120; social sciences and, 89, 155, 230, 231; socio-economic evolution and, 89; southern prejudices and, 35; TR and, 35–36, 108; universities as fourth branch of government and, 54–55; U.S. Constitution and, 125–26, 144; Wilson and, 31, 33, 69–88, 120
Prohibition, 26
Promise of American Life, The (Croly), 126
Public Papers and Addresses of Franklin D. Roosevelt, The (ed. Rosenman), 109
Rawls, John, 211, 233
Reagan, Ronald, xiv, 8, 11, 14, 149, 178, 179, 192–93, 201; conservatism and, 176; legacy, 26–27; rhetorical presidency and, 181; “shining city on a hill,” 212; on socialized medicine, 211–12
“Real Me” ethics, 169
Reedy, George, 152
Reid, Harry, ix
relativism, 227–28, 229, 231
Religious Right, 66
Remnick, David, 4, 259n 12
Republic (Plato), 86
Republican Party: 1920s and, 108; 2010 election gains, 7; case against Obamacare and, 201; conservatism and, 112; control of Congress and, 26; FDR brands them Tories, 113, 117; Obama’s attacks on, 194–95; Obama’s disdain for, 19–20; Tea Party, 7, 19–20
Ribicoff, Abraham, 2, 241n 2
Riesman, David, 50
Rodgers, Daniel, 143–44
Roosevelt, Franklin D. (FDR), xi, xii–xiii, 7, 24, 103–45, 174, 178, 252n 8; 1932 Columbus, Ohio speech, 253n 27; 1932 Commonwealth Club speech, 107, 108, 127–28, 131, 142, 252n 8; 1932 DNC acceptance speech, 106, 113, 130; 1932 Oglethorpe University speech, 142, 143; 1932 popular vote, 8, 241n 9; 1933 First Inaugural Address, 188–89; 1936 DNC acceptance speech, 114–16; 1937 Fireside Chat (Mar. 9), 254n 31; 1937 Second Inaugural, 124–25, 133, 183, 185, 252n 5; 1938 Jackson Day Dinner Address, 252n 5; 1938 radio address, 124; 1940 Radio Address to the DNC, 254n 35; 1941 Third Inaugural Address, 130; 1945 Fourth Inaugural Address, 130; American despair and, 193; big government and, 129–30; Brains Trust, 107, 141, 155, 187; “common counsel” and, 121; “communities programs” of, 159; conservatism and, 112, 113, 116–17; Court-packing plan, 119, 254n 31; Declaration of Independence and, 127–28, 129, 135; Democratic Party purge campaign, 108–9; economic democracy and, 133–34; economic liberalism of, xvi–xvii, 35; emergency powers and, 188–190; enduring Democratic majority and, 103, 119; Great Depression and, 108, 188–89; “human rights” vs. “property rights” and, 140; Jefferson and, 126–27, 131, 253n 27; LBJ and, 151; leadership and, 93, 119, 161; liberalism and, 105–22, 169; liberalitas (generosity) and, 119–20; “living constitution” and, 119, 123, 125, 254n 31; New Deal, 105, 106, 111, 117, 118, 119, 122–45, 256n 46; new social contract of, 129; NIRA, 233; Obama’s admiration of, 11, 14; Obama’s election compared to election of 1932, 103; as political thinker, 106–7; politics of vision and, 183, 185, 186–87; pragmatism of, 105, 131, 133, 142, 143; presidency and, 121–22, 131–32, 254n 31; Progressivism and, 105, 230; Protestantism and, 120–21; redistribution of wealth and, 141; Second Bill of Rights, xvi, 118, 125, 135–39, 144, 211, 255n 39; social contract of, 104–5, 133–34; speech-writing and, 107; “underconsumption” economic theory, 141–42; “war against poverty,” 254n 35; welfare state and, 145; Wilson and, 105–6, 108, 120, 252n 5
Roosevelt, Theodore (TR), xi, 32, 47, 79, 105, 106, 111, 124, 126, 250n 60; Lincoln as hero of, 48; New Nationalism and, 49; Progressivism and, 35–36, 108, 253n 14; property rights and, 140; rhetorical presidency and, 181; Social Darwinism and, 66; “stewardship” theory of presidency, 33; World War I and, 79
Root, Elihu, 47
Rorty, Richard, 150, 229; as “liberal ironist,” 229
Rosenman, Samuel I., 108, 254n 31
Rousseau, Jean Jacques, 63, 229
Sachs, Jeffrey, 230
Safire, William, 183
Sanders, Bernie, ix
Santayana, George, 111
Schlesinger, Arthur M., Jr., 108, 151
Second Discourse (Rousseau), 63
Sherman Antitrust Act, 123
Shklar, Judith, 229
Sidney, Algernon, 213, 215
Silent Majority, 175
Silver, Thomas B., xiv
Sixties: books on America’s spiritual emptiness and power hunger, 172; civil rights movement and, 173; counterculture, 173; cultural liberalism and, 174, 175; culture wars and, 165–76; “feel good” ethics, 173; legacy of, 173; liberalism of, 169; radicalism of, 173, 212, 221; “Real Me” ethics, 169, 174; self-development and, 168–69, 170; youth movement and, 156–57, 160–61, 174. See also Great Society; New Left
Smith, J. Allen, 43
Social Darwinism, 63–69, 104, 236, 248n 46; capitalism and, 65; “end of history idea” dispensed with, 67; leadership and, 89; Leftists and, 65; racial or biological element of, 77–79; secularized Christianity and, 102; varieties of, 66–67; Ward and, 68
Social Gospel, 120, 253n 21
socialism, 248n 34; Wilson and, 87–88
Socialist Party (U.S.), 117
Social Security, 139, 203, 210, 256n 46; Bush’s reform plans, 104–5; FDR and, 104; New Deal and, 105
Social Statics (Spenser), 68
sociocracy, 89
sociology, 89
South Carolina College, 52
Spencer, Herbert, 64, 67–68; “survival of the fittest,” 67–68
Spengler, Oswald, 61
Stalin, Joseph, 95
State, The: Elements of Historical and Practical Politics (Wilson), 246n 24, 250n 63
State, The (Wilson), 47, 76, 82–86
statism, 62, 251n 66
Stein, Herbert, 234
Stewart, Jon, 192
stimulus package. See American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
Strauss, Leo, 231
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS): “egotistic individualism,” 170; Port Huron Statement, 160, 167–68; “the System” and, 166–67, 171
Sumner, William Graham, 48, 64, 66, 68, 248n 46
Swift, Jonathan, 91
Synthetic Philosophy (Spencer), 68
Taft, Robert, 112
Taft, William Howard, 33, 47, 124
Talcott, Charles, 32
Taney, Roger, 219
taxes: Bush cuts, 25; on middle class, 234; new, Obama’s healthcare program and, 203, 204, 205, 234; New Deal programs and, 142; Obama’s promises on, 202; Social Security, 27, 256n 46; welfare state and, 27, 235
Team of Rivals (Goodwin), 15
Tea Party, 7, 19–20
Temin, Peter, 141–42
Third Way politics, 9, 12, 212
Through the Looking Glass (Carroll), 63, 65
Time magazine, 3–4; FDR on cover, 1932, 103; “The New Liberal Order” story, 103
Tocqueville, Alexis de, 210, 236
Tomasky, Michael, 4–5, 6–7, 25, 228
trickle-down economics, 113
Truman, Harry S., xii, 178
Tugwell, Rexford, 106, 107, 233
Tulis, Jeffrey, 181
Two Treatises of Government (Locke), 80–81
“underconsumption” economic theory, 141–42
unemployment, 6
universities (American): earliest, 50–51, 247n 28; English influence on, 52, 250n 62; first political science professor, 52; as fourth branch of government, 49–55; German influence on, 51–52, 53–55, 247n 31, 250n 60; as “knowledge factories,” 171; new social sciences of, 55–56; Progressive reforms and, 56; as the research university, 51–52, 55; rise of, 49–50, 51; tenure, academic freedom, and, 55
University of Chicago, 51
University of Michigan, 51
University of Virginia, 247n 28
University of Wisconsin (at Madison), 51, 248n 34; German influence on, 53–55
Unsafe at Any Speed (Nader), 160
U.S. Constitution, 110; arguments for, 231–32; Beard’s criticism of, 174; Bill of Rights, 135, 139, 172; Civil War amendments, 37, 48; constitutional vs. statue law, Obamacare and, 207; Eighteenth Amendment, 26; equality and, 196; on executive power, 258n 9; FDR and, 119, 254n 31; FDR’s Second Bill of Rights, xvi, 118, 125, 135–39, 144, 172, 255n 39; Framers’ intent and, 45, 70, 71–72, 101, 231, 249n 53; “legitimacy barrier” and, 173; “living constitution” and, 75, 84, 88, 89, 90, 110, 123, 173, 187, 207; as mechanistic and not evolving, 71; “a more perfect Union,” 215, 217; natural rights doctrine, xvi, 80, 187, 218, 255n 39; Obama and, 217–18, 220; old rights vs. new rights, 139–140; political liberalism as critique of, xvi, 209; Pragmatism as antithetical to, xiv; Progressivism and “rights,” 125–26, 144; as protecting slavery, 219, 220; separation of powers and, 71, 74–75; Sixth Amendment, 139; view of as outdated, 43, 45–46, 49, 70–71, 125–26, 209, 232; Wilson and, 32, 69–88, 249n 53
U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, 155
U.S. Supreme Court: culture wars and, 165; Dred Scott and, 219; FDR’s Court-packing plan, 119, 254n 31; New Deal rulings, 143; New Left and, 165; Obama’s dressing down of, 194; review of Obamacare and, 201, 208
utilitarianism, 74
Valenti, Jack, 152
values, 167–68; as relative, 173
Vanderbilt, Commodore, 47
Vietnam War, 2
Ward, Lester Frank, 66–67, 68, 89, 248n 46
War on Poverty, 151–52, 155, 157–58, 161, 162; Community Action Program (CAP), 162, 165; Economic Opportunity Act, 161–62
Washington, George, 39, 43, 92, 99, 178, 186; Farewell Address, 122, 181; Wilson and, 249n 51
Weber, Max, 61, 168, 171
Webster, Daniel, 232
welfare state, xii, 27–28; backlash against, 216; bankruptcy of, 235; blue-state social model, 29, 233; costs of, 211; entitlement debate, morality of, 210–11; entitlement programs and, 139; FDR, New Deal, and, 123, 145; funding by rich, 141–42; funding sources, 233–34; growth of, 209–10; redistribution of wealth and, 141; Swedenization of America, 28, 235. See also Great Society; New Deal; Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
West, Mae, 150
Wettergreen, John Adams, 206
What Is To Be Done? (Lenin), 95
White, William Allen, 108–9
Wilkins, Roy, 4
Wilson, James Q.
Wilson, Woodrow, xi, xii–xiii, xix, 7, 24, 108, 111, 153, 174, 193, 246n 24; 1912 statement to New York Press Club, 74; 1916 election slogan, 124; Aryan nations and, 78–80; authoritarianism and, 188; Burkean views of, 73–74; at College of New Jersey (Princeton), 32, 34, 249n 51; “common counsel” and, 121; conservatism and, 73–74; Darwinism and, 70–71, 74–75; doctrine of progress and, 56; domestic policy and, 123; on faculty of Bryn Mawr, 32; family background, 34–35; FDR on, 106, 252n 5; as founder of Democratic Party liberalism, 35; Founding Fathers and, 47, 112, 261n 38; Hegelian ideas, 74, 170; influence of universities on, 56; “invisible government” and, 39–40, 47;
Jefferson and, 250n 62, 253n 27; leadership and, 90–100, 119, 161, 175, 180; liberalism of, xvi, 169; libertarianism of, 74; “living constitution” and, 75–76, 84, 88, 89, 90; mentors and teachers of, 47; modernity and, 44; New Freedom and, xv, 43, 88, 105–6, 112, 123–24; new political ideas of, 32–33, 69–70, 74, 81, 82–84, 86–87, 105, 128, 132, 134, 249n 56; patriarchalism and, 80, 250n 63; politics of vision and, 186; political liberalism of, 34; Populism and, 43, 99–100; presidency and, 32, 33–34, 121, 181; on presidency and foreign relations, 244n 3; as Princeton’s president, 69, 153; Progressivism and, 31, 33, 69–88, 120, 158–59, 230; property rights and, 140; quoting from Through the Looking Glass, 63; on race and government, 78–79; relativism and, 227; Social Darwinism and, 66; socialism and, 87–88; southern prejudices and, 35, 37–38, 73; speechmaking (rhetorical presidency) of, 179, 182; Spencer’s ideas and, 68; the State and, 81, 82–86, 120; transformation of constitutional system and, 45–47, 49, 69–88, 232, 249n 53; Washington and, 249n 51; World War I and, 188, 252n 5
Winfrey, Oprah, 14
Witherspoon, John, 50–51
Wood, Gordon, 214
Woodrow, Thomas, 34
Woolsey, Theodore D., 255n 39
World War I, 79, 102, 106, 188, 252n 5; Treaty of Versailles, 108, 124, 244n 3
Wright, Jeremiah, x, 219, 261n 34; America as racist, 219, 220, 221; “audacity of hope” and, 18